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March 28, 2003
AUSTIN, Texas – The University of Virginia finished 12th in the 800 freestyle relay Friday (March 28) at the 2003 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships at the Jamail Texas Swimming Center. The 800 free relay was the lone event the Cavaliers participated in during Friday’s finals.
After the second day of competition, and 14 of 21 events, UVa stands in 18th place with 50 points. Auburn lead the 2003 NCAA Championships with 449 points and Texas is second with 282 points, followed by California (238).
The foursome of third-year Ian Prichard (Ventura, Calif./Buena), first-year Fran Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa./Germantown Academy), third-year Luke Wagner (Greenwood, Colo./Regis Jesuit), and second-year Michael Raab (Rockville, Md./Walter Johnson) touched in a time of 6:30.19 in finishing 12th to earn honorable mention All-America accolades in the 800 free relay. The time is also the third-fastest in school history in the 800 free relay.
Several Virginia swimmers competed in the prelims during the second of three days of competition. Raab also placed 17th in the 100 butterfly with a time of 47.57, which is the second fastest time in school history. Raab entered the 2003 NCAAs as the 35th seed in the 100 fly and nearly qualified for the consolation final with his 17th-place finish. He was three-tenths of a second shy of finishing 16th and advancing to the consolation finals. Raab’s previous collegiate best time in the 100 butterfly was 48.23. Crippen, who placed fifth in the 500 free Thursday night, was 18th in the 400 individual medley with a time of 3:50.35. He was also three-tenths of a second short of qualifying for the consolation finals. Also in the 400 individual medley, second-year Bo Greenwood (Manakin, Va./Goochland) was on pace to finish among the top qualifiers, but was disqualified. Prichard and third-year Adam Kerpelman (Lutherville, Md./St. Paul’s School) competed in the 200 freestyle. Prichard tied for 27th place with a time of 1:37.65, while Kerpelman was 44th in a time of 1:39.88. Wagner rounded out UVa’s competitors in the preliminaries as he placed 27th in the 100 backstroke, clocking a time of 49.07.
The third and final day of the 2003 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships begins with preliminaries Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. Central Time. Saturday’s finals begin at 7:00 p.m. CT.